Volunteers

Across the country and across the world there are people giving up their time to help others.
Most of them do this without shouting from the roof tops or expecting out pouring's of gratitude, in fact most of them avoid the lime light and don't feel they do anything out of the ordinary.

I am sure all of us within the blue light services have witnessed the dedication of these volunteers, day in day out, in both  direct actions and supportive functions. I could try and list some of the voluntary groups but this list is endless and I am sure I would miss someone off.

The Local Resilience Forum conference  I attended in November concentrated on the way in which we need to involve communities in preparedness and resilience. Our county council have a resilience officer dedicated to coordinating and engaging with voluntary groups. looking at this more closely who is best placed to help a community? The community itself; as it has local knowledge, local contacts, is probably already doing some of the things needed and above all is in the right place.

Today on social media SWAST community responders, Llanberris Mountain Rescue Team, SERV Wessex Blood Bikes have all been out doing what they do 24/7 365 days a year. These are the ones that use social media to let people know what they do, but what about the unsung heroes  giving the elderly a Christmas meal or supporting the homeless. The Samaritans and MIND charity providing support to those who need it. These are just a few examples from hundreds.

Could you help a local charity? Do you have a skill that they may be able to use? Charities need backroom support as much as they need those who actually deliver the support.

Do you think you could be one of those volunteers at the end of the phone, waiting for the pager to go off or helping with fundraising? The ways in which you can help are as endless as are the organisations that need your help and support.

Try a different New Year resolution why not see if you can volunteer some time to a local community project or cause.

ITS CHRISTMAS !!!!!

Good morning everyone and happy Christmas. I hope this finds you all well and enjoying the festivities. I am working this morning then family time later.
It seems that more people than ever before are working over the festive season to provide emergency and essential services. Please spare a thought for those who are away from their families over the festive season. There is even a bus service in Bournemouth and Poole today!

This year has been a strange one in terms of the weather with what is probably one of the warmest and wettest Decembers in memory. This has led to flooding in many areas and my thoughts are with those affected. It is great to see the multi agency response to these events supporting the local communities. It is also refreshing to see community spirit is alive and well.

Talking of community spirit our community responders within the SWAST region are giving more and more of their time to support frontline crews which ultimately benefits the most important reason we are all here THE PATIENT.

Now time for the adverts courtesy of  our sponsors the great British public.

Please :
Choose well, do you need to call 999 or could you contact 111 or a pharmacy?
Don't drink and drive
Take care with candles
Look out for your neighbours

Wishing you and your families a safe and happy Christmas

Dorset Local Resilience Forum Confrence

I spent today at the Dorset Local Reslience Forum Confrence in Bournemouth.

This bought together representatives of category one responders , category 2 responders,voluntary agencies and other interested parties.

It was great to see such a gathering of people with such a wide range of experience, knowledge and most importantly drive to improve the reslience of our local community.

A variety of speakers on different subjects gave a insight to their specific areas of expertise.Their  presentations were both informative and thought provoking.

The over arching theme of all the speakers was community involvement and and how as responders we can make use of and tap in to the huge wealth of knowledge,assistance and ad hoc plans which exist.

Engaging with local communities allows access to this information , prevents duplication of work and avoids reinventing the wheel. It is important to engage prior to a event so that as a responder you are aware of what resources may be available to you within your local area or further afield.

There are a range of work streams in progress across the county and nationally to ensure we make best use of these community resources in a coordinated and ordered way. Looking forward this work can only be of benefit to everyone involved.

Thanks to all involved in the organisation of this event, the speakers and the exhibitors.

Productive week

This week has seen me as our Operational Officer locally and attending several meetings. 

The trust is rolling out electronic care records and staff locally are receiving their training. This week also saw the first meetings with our two local acute trusts to brief them on the rollout and engage with them. There were very positive responses from all present. The new system will benefit patients hugely.

This morning I attended the local Safety Advisory Group monthly meeting, lots of events happening through the rest of this year and plans for next year. There was a presentation to the group outlining the plans for the 2016 Poole Harbour Boat Show which hopes to build on its successes of last year. there are also exciting discussions and planning meetings looking forward to the 2017 European Maritime Day.

Today was topped off with the Bourne Academy ambassadors evening getting the sixth formers involved with local businesses and networking. The pupils were great and really engaged a credit to the school

Lots in the news

Junior doctors contracts is a hot topic at the moment, you only have to look at how tired some of them look during their shifts, should they be making critical decisions?

First aid and CPR training for school children should be a compulsory part of the curriculum. Everyone should know basic skills to save a life.

Defibrillators! Most businesses and public places have to have fire extinguishers , maybe even sprinklers and a first aid kit. How can a first aid kit not include a vital piece of equipment a defibrillator?

On a positive note a great meeting of the Poole Harbour  Islands Safety Group this week good progress being made by all those involved to increase the safety of island users and inhabitants can only be a positive. Lots of iniatives and asserts that can be shared between the islands and will also benefit the harbour as a whole. Thanks to all for their continued support and engagement.

Dorset Fire and Rescue coresponders at Swange went live this week, welcome.

This week has also seen the publication of the National Ambulance Reslience Units guidance for responding to incidents on motorways. Some great information in the guidance to keep responders safe and improve inter agency working; the key outcome improved patient care.

You may have noticed a bit of a theme running through all of the above, improved patient care. this can only be achieved through greater public involvement, interoperability between responders and robust planning.

With winter approaching it is time to think about your flu jab if you are in a vulnerable group, contact your Surgery if that have not already been in touch. Health care professionals your employer should be offering you vaccinations locally.

Wander round Poole Harbour

With this lovely sunny weather I had a wander around the south shores of Poole Harbour this morning. Stunning weather , stunning scenery and to top it off saw a Adder basking in the sun on the path.

A bit further along I saw a Sand Lizard but he was a bit too fast to photograph. All in all a great morning

Multi Agency Exercise

Today I took part in a multi agency exercise at a simulated incident at Perenco, Wytch Farm.

The aim of the exercise was to test Perenco staff and responding agencies ability to deal with an incident and casualties on site.

The JESIP aims of working together, saving lives and reducing harm were the over arching doctrine testing the interoperability of all agencies.

                                 

Operational Commander, Bronze Commander

The command structure at incidents has for a long while been designated by the terms Bronze, Silver and Gold.
These have been reviewed and renamed to better reflect the role each position plays in the overall management of an incident.

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These titles should begin to be used and become the norm. The new command guidance from NARU and information from JESIP  all use these these titles.

So what do they mean?
The Strategic commander is in overall control of the organisation's resources at the incident. This person will not be on site, but at a distant control room, or command suite where he or she will formulate the strategy for dealing with the incident. If the strategic commanders for various organisations at an incident are not co-located, they will be in constant touch with each other by video conference or telephone.

The Tactical Commander manages tactical implementation of the strategic direction given By the strategic commander and makes it into sets of actions that are completed by The  operational commander.Depending on the organisation, they may or may not be at scene: Fire tend to be, police tend not to be; however this is a dynamic decision. Other organisations make their own decisions although many are encouraged to attend or send a representative to the police-led multi-agency silver command as detailed in the CCA.

This could be located in a command vehicle at or near the scene or a remote building such as the police HQ. There is a common misconception that all blue light services share one big control room and emergency control centre. This is generally not the case.

A Operational commander directly controls an organisation's resources at the incident and will be found with their staff working at the scene. A commander or representative from each agency will be present and take direction from their organisation, with the overall effort aimed at working together, saving life and reducing harm.

If an incident is widespread geographically, different operational commanders may assume responsibility for different locations or different parts of the incident. They still remain under the control of the tactical commander.

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog.
I have been inspired to start using social media by other members of the blue light and voluntary services.
Any means which can help people understand our work and provide information has to be a winning situation.